Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest review – brilliantly sly celebration of family and the infinite
Humour and subtly shattering insights into a new life as a parent add profundity to Callahan’s expansive album - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarJake Xerxes Fussell: Out of Sight review – peppy, sensual, murderous visions of folk
Fussell’s exceptional covers show how folk songs seep into funk, rock and soul, while making them decidedly his own - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarSlowthai: Nothing Great About Britain review – snarling in the face of power
On his debut album, the Northampton rapper swears at the Queen, dodges the far right and tries to pull a posh girl. It all adds up to a hilarious punk portrait of the nation - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarHolly Herndon: Proto review – dizzying beauty and bracing beats
(4AD) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarRhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi: There Is No Other review – a folk landmark
Stellar folk musician joins forces with Italian multi-instrumentalist to connect African and Arabic sounds with traditional forms – it’s stunning - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarJS Bach: Cello Suites review – a violin reboot to make you dance
Violinist Rachel Podger makes Bach’s suites sound as if they were written for her instrument, such is her buoyancy and agility - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarLuedji Luna: Um Corpo No Mundo review – sultry debut with a message
(Sterns) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarGeorgia Anne Muldrow: Vweto II review – kaleidoscopic, sunshine timewarp jazz
A sprawling, funky blur of past musical references, through a 2050 filter, Muldrow is never done experimenting - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarMerz/Laraaji/Ismaily: Dreams of Sleep and Wakes of Sound review – a profound sonic battle
Laraaji’s blissful autoharp overcomes an industrial guitar-feedback dystopia provided by Merz on this filmic album - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarHolliger/Kurtág: Zwiegespräche review – warmly austere birthday tribute
Composer and oboist Heinz Holliger and kindred spirit György Kurtág celebrate the former’s works with expressive, conversational rapport - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarFred Hersch & the WDR Big Band: Begin Again review – lyrical and terrifying
(Palmetto) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarBill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest review – a sweet and sly return
(Drag City) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarKate Tempest: The Book of Traps and Lessons review – personal and optimistic
(Fiction) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarBruce Springsteen: Western Stars review – quintessentially Boss
(Columbia Records) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarBikini Kill review – return of the riot grrl revolutionaries
The second coming of Bikini Kill is a gloriously urgent call to arms from a band that have lost none of their visceral power - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarBaroness: Gold & Grey review – ambitious rockers go beyond metal
The Philadephia-based quartet have found a new sense of purpose on this more psychedelic fifth album - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarKate Tempest: The Book of Traps and Lessons review – living poetry amid the chaos of 2019
Producer Rick Rubin has pared back the effects, giving Tempest’s songs about trying to love and dance through our current crises room to reach out - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarPark Jiha: Philos review – Korean experimenter transcends old and new
Using no more than three instruments on each track, Jiha’s music expresses as much emotion as words could convey - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarHowells: An English Mass; Cello Concerto; Te Deum etc review – Cleobury's distinctive final offering
The famed music director celebrates his retirement with a fine selection of music by Herbert Howells - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarRadiohead: MiniDiscs (Hacked) review – blueprints for the best album of the 90s
This hoard of material from the OK Computer era is an endlessly interesting chronicle of a band reinventing the mainstream by rejecting it - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarJake Xerxes Fussell: Out of Sight review – upcycled folk songs with an edge
(Paradise of Bachelors) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarPeter Perrett: Humanworld review – Only Ones legend back to his best
(Domino) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarMadonna: Madame X review – a splendidly bizarre return to form
An engrossing mix of Latinate beats, political allusion – and Joan of Arc - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarPeter Perrett: Humanworld review – sharp melodic rock from former Only One
After years lost to addiction, Perrett’s second album since 2017 shows his well-judged musical ideas continue to flourish - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarAurora: A Different Kind of Human: Step II review – idiosyncratic singer's dark electro-pop
Breathy Norwegian vocalist whose songs deal with everything from outdated gender roles to climate change invents her own pop - Michael Cragg
starstarstarstarstarTori Freestone Trio: El Mar de Nubes review – tenor sax player's inventive, pliant trio
The third album from this impressive trio shows formidable range, balancing free-jazz delicacy and bite - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarGranados: Goyescas review – vivid choral writing brings art to life
Based on paintings by Goya, Enrique Granados’s lost opera is full of melodic invention, energetically performed here - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarBruce Springsteen: Western Stars review – the Boss takes the scenic route
Trailed as a break with tradition, the lush orchestrations and swooning vocals of this finely wrought album, in fact, chime beautifully with Springsteen’s history - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarMadonna: Madame X review – her most bizarre album ever
The lows are really low. But by embracing Latin pop, Madonna sounds more natural than she has in years - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarAlan Broadbent Trio: New York Notes review – joyful twists and turns
(Savant) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarSkepta: Ignorance Is Bliss review – fatherhood and ear-candy beats
(Boy Better Know) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarMiley Cyrus: She Is Coming review – pop chameleon finds her true colours
Once shuttling between different awkward personas, Cyrus draws together all sides of her personality with this new EP - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarRichard Hawley: Further review – mellow fellow keeps it rocking
His eighth album sees Hawley ruminate on themes from ageing to solitude, with the guitars turned up loud - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarLee 'Scratch' Perry: Rainford review – Upsetter on an even keel
Producer Adrian Sherwood meets dub-reggae hero half way, with new tech to enhance Perry’s ideas – it’s a return to form - Lloyd Bradley
starstarstarstarstarNaomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds: Singing It All Back Home review – vivid and crackling with life
Polished, spirited revisions of traditional Appalachian songs are joyfully and effortlessly rendered - Jude Rogers
starstarstarstarstarSkepta: Ignorance is Bliss review – sex, guns and man bags from grime's prodigal son
Expectations are high after the Mercury-winning Konnichiwa, but Skepta’s flow ensures this follow up is a sensual pleasure - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarLise Davidsen: Wagner and Strauss review – powerhouse soprano's stunning debut
Her voice is the calm at the centre of a storm of music by Wagner and Strauss in Davidsen’s worth-the-wait album - Erica Jeal
starstarstarstarstarYoussou N’Dour: History review – the Senegalese superstar returns
(Naive) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarFaye Webster: Atlanta Millionaires Club review – a Georgia peach of an album
(Secretly Canadian) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarMavis Staples: We Get By review – fearsome, eclectic, and on fine form
She may be 80 in July, but Staples is more heartfelt and expressive than ever here, in new songs of struggle and unity - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarSteve Lacy: Apollo XXI review – a casually confident kaleidoscope
Lacy brings indie, soul, rock and rap to his self-assured debut, full of hooks and attitude - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarAreni Agbabian: Bloom review – ethereal contralto explorer
Surrounded by muted piano, gongs and brushed drums, Agbabian’s experimental songs are creepy but tuneful and beguiling - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarEnsemble Diderot: The London and Paris albums review – ebullient Enlightenment trios with brio
The baroque music of the two cities is sparklingly realised by Ensemble Diderot, but Paris wins in terms of innovation - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarCate Le Bon: Reward review – a mind unravelling in Cumbria
Lovely, airy, occasionally rocking songs are underpinned by off-kilter lyrics and seeping isolation on Le Bon’s remarkable album - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarBill Frisell and Thomas Morgan: Epistrophy review – revelatory double act
(ECM) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarSteel Pulse: Mass Manipulation review – welcome return of reggae giants
Steel Pulse deliver a rousing take on the world today, exploring issues from trafficking to climate change with sincerity and positivity - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarCarly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated review – dusky disco glories
With less of the belt-it-out bombast, Jepsen presents her more confident, seductive and cheeky sides – all are welcome - Laura Snapes
starstarstarstarstarThe National: I Am Easy to Find review – melodious mood music to enthral
The band’s eighth album hymns other artists including REM on understated songs full of trademark emotional intensity - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarBCUC: The Healing review – exhilarating waves of Afropsychedelia
Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness’s choppy, chanting vocals, backed by insistent, inventive bass-playing, really shake up South African music - Robin Denselow
starstarstarstarstarJamila Woods: Legacy! Legacy! review – poetry in motion
(Jagjaguwar) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarLaurence Pike: Holy Spring review – cosmic drum trips
(The Leaf Label) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarJamila Woods: Legacy! Legacy! review – joyful, loving testimony to black artists
Woods’s free-spirited second album pays earwormy homage to the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Eartha Kitt and Miles Davis - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarHolly Herndon: Proto review – dystopia averted! AI and IRL in pop harmony
Herndon’s own AI, Spawn, augments her group’s flesh-and-blood vocals to challenge our fears that machines will take over - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarDave Douglas: Devotion review – virtuoso hymns that spring and swing
Inspired by a cappella Sacred Harp singing, the trumpeter also pays tribute to Carla Bley and Mary Lou Williams in this intensely personal trio set - John Fordham
starstarstarstarstarMahler: Titan review – period instrument insights into a beautiful mind
Before Mahler’s First Symphony reached its final form, it was a ‘tone poem’, well revived here on German and Viennese instruments - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarClinic: Wheeltappers and Shunters review – a magical mystery tour of broken Britain
With their short but immersive songs, the Liverpool psych-rockers underline their status as one of the UK’s most enthralling bands - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarBig Thief: UFOF review – full of subtle charm
(4AD) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarJim Snidero: Waves of Calm review – revelatory alto sax
(Savant) - Dave Gelly
starstarstarstarstarVampire Weekend: Father of the Bride review – a marriage of angst and optimism
The band’s first album in six years is both a callback to their preppy roots and a mature evolution of melting pot pop - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarKedr Livanskiy: Your Need review – joyful, punchy beats with a touch of tape hiss
Sung in Russian and English, Livanskiy’s more playful, deeper second album has an optimistic spirit - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarDrahla: Useless Coordinates review – swaggering, controlled-chaos debut
(Captured Tracks)Leeds trio’s potent first album takes rugged-but-cerebral post-punk on a propulsive, saxophone-tinted journey - Dean Van Nguyen
starstarstarstarstarFilthy Friends: Emerald Valley review – indie supergroup is familiar yet bracing
Featuring Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney and Peter Buck of REM, this second album is engaged and abrasive, even if the lyrics sometimes overdo it - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarBig Thief: UFOF review – folk-tinged indie bordered by demons
Hypnotic soft guitars mask uneasiness on the New York four-piece’s third album: it really packs a punch - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarVampire Weekend: Father of the Bride review – a scrapbook of brilliant ideas
Their first album in six years sees VW integrating styles from country to flamenco into their preppy pop, often brilliantly - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarAldous Harding: Designer review – a true original
(4AD) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarKevin Morby: Oh My God review – a master songwriter at work
(Dead Oceans) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarEzra Collective: You Can’t Steal My Joy review – celebration of jazz’s diversity
(Enter the Jungle) - Ammar Kalia
starstarstarstarstarMountain Goats: In League With Dragons review – deliciously detailed indie rock
John Darnielle’s four-piece have made an album of melodic character studies and mournful stompers. Hard to believe it’s their 17th - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarThe Cranberries: In the End review – moving swan songs of Dolores O'Riordan
The singer’s death hangs heavy over this album, finished by her bandmates, but the songs, which are some of their best, are superb - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarSoak: Grim Town review – familiar yet life-affirmingly raw pop
The indie singer-songwriter’s second album mines the genre’s long-established tropes to deliver soul-baring poignancy - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarIshmael Ensemble: A State of Flow review – Bristol native's classy, clubby astral meld
Combining genres from jazz to minimalism with a great city’s musical heritage, without resorting to pastiche, is no mean feat - John Lewis
starstarstarstarstarElgar: String Quartet; Piano Quintet review – Brodskys bring sensitivity if not conviction
A century after the composer’s String Quartet and Piano Quintet were premiered, the Brodsky Quartet return them to the spotlight - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarPrince: Originals review – delicious demos from the vaults
(Warner Bros/Tidal) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarOctavian: Endorphins review – straddles genres and the Thames
(Black Butter) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarThe Raconteurs: Help Us Stranger review – classic rock undone by aggro
Jack White’s eccentricity is well contained by his bandmates, but the macho politics undermine the tautness - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarMark Ronson: Late Night Feelings review – the tracks of his tears
Midas-touch producer’s divorce album moves from reggaeton to yacht pop with vocalists Yebba, Miley Cyrus and more – it’s oddly old-fashioned - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarBlack Midi: Schlagenheim review – the weirdest buzz band of the year
This hyped quartet of Brit School graduates deliver some powerful kicks between the clattering, self-satisfied rackets - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarMattiel: Satis Factory review – witty and assured garage rock
(Heavenly) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarMoStack: Stacko review – London rapper's imaginative debut perfect for summer in the city
Hornsey man MoStack’s debut covers familiar territory, but it’s a joyful experience - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarLee ‘Scratch’ Perry: Rainford review – ghost of dub past
(On-U Sound) - Damien Morris
starstarstarstarstarRichard Hawley: Further review – all swagger and croon
(BMG) - Emily Mackay
starstarstarstarstarYonaka: Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow review – hummable pop with a moshpit makeover
The catchy gratification of pop melded with punk guitars and drums sounds great, but ultimately feels irrelevant - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarThe Little Unsaid: Atomise review – bold and different
(Reveal) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarSteve Lacy: Apollo XXI review – blissful LA funk and hip-hop
(3qtr) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarAmyl and the Sniffers: Amyl and the Sniffers review – blunt-force, yob-glam punk
Melbourne band’s debut cannot live up to its own hype, though there are tight riffs and fun to be had - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarFlying Lotus: Flamagra review – cosmic voyager's cartoonish cinematic vision
Boasting collabs with everyone from David Lynch to Tierra Whack, it sounds as if FlyLo has written a film soundtrack on his sixth album - Jazz Monroe
starstarstarstarstarMaluma: 11:11 review – party tunes meet hunky smouldering
(Relentless/Sony Latin) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarTyler, the Creator: Igor review – impulsive artist takes the rapping off
This strange smorgasbord of sound is shrewd, smooth and heartfelt – but has Tyler ditched what made him great? - Dean Van Nguyen
starstarstarstarstarLewis Capaldi: Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent review – full-force, ugly-crying pop
Singing dolorous ballads in a style that makes Adele look stoic takes some doing, but Capaldi’s honesty is appealing - Ben Beaumont-Thomas
starstarstarstarstarTchaikovsky: Symphony No 6 review – leaves you neither shaken nor stirred
Kirill Petrenko’s first recording with his new orchestra has plenty to admire but taken as a whole feels rather underpowered - Andrew Clements
starstarstarstarstarRosie Lowe: YU review – seductive, minimalist soul probes power balance
Lowe’s second album is full of hushed and classy electronica, with questions of power and female agency never far away - Dave Simpson
starstarstarstarstarMac DeMarco: Here Comes the Cowboy review – self-indulgent comedy indie
The Canadian’s simple and relatable balladry takes a jokey turn in his fourth album - Rachel Aroesti
starstarstarstarstarTen Tonnes: Ten Tonnes review – a breezy, tuneful debut
(Warner Bros) - Kitty Empire
starstarstarstarstarMatt Martians: The Last Party review – an immersive summer breeze
(3qtr) - Tara Joshi
starstarstarstarstarMinyo Crusaders: Echoes of Japan review – unlikely fusion’s great grooves
(Mais Um) - Neil Spencer
starstarstarstarstarPink: Hurts 2B Human review – grown-up Pink is as underdog as ever
The singer’s eighth album reflects on love, loss and maturity, but it seems to tread familiar ground - Aimee Cliff
starstarstarstarstarTwo Door Cinema Club: False Alarm review – charisma-free truth bombs
The Northern Irish trio have embraced electronic pop, but they fail to give their strong hooks any personality - Alexis Petridis
starstarstarstarstarSoundwalk Collective with Patti Smith: The Peyote Dance review – over-egged mysticism
Smith’s incantations over arid musical settings, inspired by a French writer’s take on indigenous people, stray into appropriation - Michael Hann
starstarstarstarstarThe National: I Am Easy to Find review – strangely lacklustre
(4AD) - Phil Mongredien
starstarstarstarstarMorrissey: California Son review – clumsy covers with a troll-like spirit
It’s unclear why Morrissey has released these heavy-handed recordings of protest songs, but his motives can’t help but seem suspect - Laura Snapes
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